BY TOM HENDERSON
GAZETTE-TIMES REPORTER | Posted: Thursday, October 23, 2008 12:00 am
Arresting officer shares a different perspective
OK, so he was a little rowdy. It was a football game, after all.
Daniel Koch admits he might have expressed his criticisms of Washington State University rather passionately.
Still, he said, he was nothing but gentlemanly with the Oregon state troopers who escorted him out of Reser Stadium on Oct. 11, when Oregon State University played WSU. Koch, who is from Corvallis, said he certainly did nothing to warrant them throwing him to the ground, costing him a chipped tooth and cut lip.
That's his story.
Trooper Scott Granger tells a different tale. He said the 33-year old-old OSU student was drunk and disruptive. And when he and Trooper Dean Hagerman removed Koch from the stadium, Granger said, Koch also became combative. Granger said eyewitness accounts corroborate his version of events.
According to Granger's report, Koch resisted arrest and had to be physically subdued.
Lies, Koch said. He has filed a formal complaint with the Oregon State Police's office of internal affairs. Unless Granger is reprimanded for his behavior, Koch said, he will pursue legal action against OSP.
Lt. Jeff Lanz, the commander of the state police office at OSU, said he couldn't comment on a pending formal complaint. However, he said the official report accurately represents the police's version of events.
Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson said he reviewed the case and sees no reason to doubt Granger's word. No criminal charges will be pursued against the troopers. Criminal charges against Koch, however, are pending.
"Every indication is that the officers worked very hard in taking steps to avoid escalating this matter," Haroldson said. "In fact, they went beyond the steps necessary."
In his report, Granger noted that Koch smelled of alcohol and had glassy, bloodshot eyes. The report stated that Koch readily admitted to drinking alcohol. Tests indicated his blood-alcohol level was between 0.09 percent and 0.10 percent. In Oregon, a blood-alcohol level of .08 or more indicates drunkenness. Koch makes no mention of drinking in his complaint.
The graduate student in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology contends the troopers violated his Fourth Amendment rights by conducting an unwarranted search of the cup he was holding.
"If this situation has been given the scrutiny and commensurate punishments that it warrants, I can assure the Oregon State Police Department of a focused effort to seek legal satisfaction external of police departmental procedures," he said.